The stupidity of latinum

[Xerxes1979]

There is no rational reason we should ever see latinum used as currency, especially in non-illicit transactions. The problems of latinum are by and large the same ones associated with with gold.

Here are some things to ponder

(A) Who mints and determines the standard format and quantity of latinum in circulation at any given time?

(B) Why is latinum itself used as money and not a proxy? Slips, bars and bricks all add up in terms weight and volume very quickly even for minor purchases.

There is no need for physical currency. Already in the first decade of this century you can easily survive without any cash on your person what so ever. Been to a McDonalds or Walgreens lately?

(C) How are problems of liquidity solved in galatic commerce? Several times during the 19th century the money supply both in the United States and world wide were in danger of severe constriction. The various gold rushes were fortunately timed and even then gold backed economonies where notoriously volitile. If the value of money is tied to a metal it is unrealistic and naive to expect that the absolute quantity of such a material will increase at a rate equal to natural population growth.

Really if the Ferengi were such economic geniuses they would have moved to a fiat currency long long ago.

Additional questions might include the nature of interest in the 24th century, fractional reserve banking and if banks operate on a planetary, sector or larger scales.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

It's a cool, exotic space currency, isn't it? As I see it, this isn't one of the things that needs to make sense.

 

[EVL_Ripper]

I just took it as a universal credit type thing as most of the time you were seeing Quark just getting a thumbprint on a Padd when servicing the crew.

 

[Forbin]

The worst part was how long it took just to SAY it!

i.e.: "Your bill is three fifty."

or:

"Your bill is three bars and five slips of Gold Pressed Latinum."

 

[JoeFromEarth]

Latinum is used because it can't be replicated. Gold can be replicated, currency can be counterfeited. Therefore, latinum is the only logical choice.

 

[Sector 7]

Why can it not be replicated? They can replicate almost anything. 24th century is a magical place, isn't it?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Latinum must be some magical nonreplicatable substance.

 

[Ziz]

You use latinum in the same way and for the same reason you use cash - no electronic record of the transaction. And I don't mean from legitimate sources like today, I mean for the "under the radar" deals Quark does.

 

[Xerxes1979]

You use latinum in the same way and for the same reason you use cash - no electronic record of the transaction. And I don't mean from legitimate sources like today, I mean for the "under the radar" deals Quark does.

What about the many times Quark found himself on official business on Ferenginar? Everything from taking an elevator to using the toilet seemed to involve latinum. Several pounds of latinum were required just to travel about. That latinum should be sitting in a vault not serving as an invitation for mugging. The level of technology is well advanced enough to allow latinum backed electronic funds.

 

[The Castellan]

Is there an image of this stuff? I have never actually seen any of it.

Plus, I remember Q was at that auction Quark had and made a bid for 1 million bars....guess it is replicatable in some manner.

 

[Xerxes1979]

Is there an image of this stuff? I have never actually seen any of it.

Plus, I remember Q was at that auction Quark had and made a bid for 1 million bars....guess it is replicatable in some manner.

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Latinum

 

[UssGlenn]

(A) Who mints and determines the standard format and quantity of latinum in circulation at any given time?

anybody can. Once people agreed on the Bars and Slips system, anybody can make their own, or have it made by people with the gold pressing equipment. This probably doesn't happen often if all the raw latinum has been found. (see my answer to C)

(B) Why is latinum itself used as money and not a proxy? Slips, bars and bricks all add up in terms weight and volume very quickly even for minor purchases.

As has been previously said any other physical system (like a proxy) of money can be replicated. Some exotic property of latinum makes it unrepliatable so they are stuck with the drawbacks of the element.

There is no need for physical currency.

They are probably paranoid of someone hacking the banking system and ruining them with a few keystrokes.

(C) How are problems of liquidity solved in galatic commerce? Several times during the 19th century the money supply both in the United States and world wide were in danger of severe constriction. The various gold rushes were fortunately timed and even then gold backed economonies where notoriously volitile. If the value of money is tied to a metal it is unrealistic and naive to expect that the absolute quantity of such a material will increase at a rate equal to natural population growth.

As long as there are no severe fluctuations of supply, then, in theory, individual bars just slowly get worth more and the numeric value of prices decreases with it. We could assume that all ore deposits of latinum in the known galaxy have been found, assuming that a scan of a planet will reveal if there is any latinum on it. The Ferengi have a powerful motive for developing such a technology.

 

[Triskelion]

Well it makes me wonder. Can you replicate something like a diamond or precious stone? A pearl? Something that takes time and pressure to create?

I can see why they'd use latinum - you've got Ferengi greed in a moneyless society, how can we the viewers relate to that?

 

[The Castellan]

Well it makes me wonder. Can you replicate something like a diamond or precious stone? A pearl? Something that takes time and pressure to create?

I can see why they'd use latinum - you've got Ferengi greed in a moneyless society, how can we the viewers relate to that?

Maybe the Ferengi were the ones who invented the latinum system.

 

[JoeFromEarth]

Why can it not be replicated? They can replicate almost anything. 24th century is a magical place, isn't it?

There are many materials you can't replicate. Dilithium crystals, for example.

 

[The Castellan]

Why can it not be replicated? They can replicate almost anything. 24th century is a magical place, isn't it?

There are many materials you can't replicate. Dilithium crystals, for example.

I thought they could be made articificially, or was I thinking about something else?

 

[Shieldsdown]

How many Quatloos in a Latinum Bar??

 

[Forbin]

There's no sense arguing WHY latinum can't be replicated; it was flatly stated on DS9 that it can't be, therefore it can't be.

 

[Saturn0660]

There's no sense arguing WHY latinum can't be replicated; it was flatly stated on DS9 that it can't be, therefore it can't be.

I think the issue is that it CAN be replicated. I'm sure anything can. But at what cost? I may take the replicater hundreds and hundreds of hours just to make a few slips. Just not worth it. You'd use far more resources then you'd gain from making it.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I get the impression that, although a replicator can make a copy of something, it wouldn't necessarily be exactly the same (if, for instance, it has a particularly complicated molecular structure). For example, it always seemed to make food that people thought tasted bad. Perhaps it can make something that looks like Latinum, but with a scanner, it clearly is replicated and, thus, worthless.